The Commentariat -- July 16, 2021

Late Morning Update:

Trump Fans (Allegedly) Planned to Firebomb California DNC HQ. Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Two men have been charged in an alleged plot to firebomb the California Democratic Party's headquarters in Sacramento, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday. Ian Benjamin Rogers and Jarrod Copeland were 'prompted by the outcome of the 2020 Presidential election' and believed their attack would spark a 'movement,' according to federal prosecutors, who said the men were members of a militia group. Law enforcement officers seized five pipe bombs, thousands of rounds of ammunition and 'between 45 and 50 firearms, including at least three fully-automatic weapons' during a January search of Rogers's home and business, according to the indictment."

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "A witness directly implicated Donald Trump in the tax fraud scheme that landed his family business and longtime accountant under indictment. Jennifer Weisselberg, the former daughter in law to indicted Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg, told investigators last month in New York that Trump personally guaranteed he would pay school tuition for her two children instead of increasing a salary that could be taxed, reported The Daily Beast.... The Trump Organization was indicted five days after Jennifer Weisselberg's interview on tax fraud charges related to unreported fringe benefits like those she described, and her claims would directly tie the twice-impeached one-term president to the running scheme." The Beast story is firewalled.

Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "Pope Francis took a significant step toward putting the Roman Catholic Church's liturgy solidly on the side of modernization Friday by cracking down on the use of the old Latin Mass, essentially reversing a decision by his conservative predecessor. The move also dealt a blow to church conservatives who have long complained that the pope is diluting the traditions of the church. Francis, in a papal Motu Proprio -- or a document issued under the pope's own legal authority -- placed new restrictions on where the traditional Latin Mass can be celebrated, who can celebrate it and requiring new permissions from local bishops for its use. Those hurdles made it clear that Francis believes that champions of the old Latin Mass are exploiting it to oppose more recent church reforms and to divide the church. Since the 1960s, the church has used a more modern and vernacular liturgical book to make the faith more accessible to the faithful."

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Sarah Kolinovsky, et al., of ABC News: "As the first round of monthly child tax credits hit Americans' bank accounts Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took a victory lap..., speaking about the 'historic day' for American families and emphasizing the sea change the payments could represent for millions of American children living in poverty. 'Today, for families all over our country, for children all over our country, help is here,' Harris said, before introducing the president. 'This has never happened before. And America, yes, it is a big deal.' Biden and Harris marked the rollout of checks and direct deposits from the child tax credit with a White House event featuring Americans set to benefit." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Signaling that the U.S.-European alliance remained strong after the tension of the Trump era, President Biden and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on Thursday stressed their shared values, even as both acknowledged differences on a major Russian pipeline and how best to approach China. During meetings at the White House, Mr. Biden's agenda included several of his most pressing geopolitical priorities, such as restraining Chinese influence, curbing Russian aggression and waiving intellectual property restrictions on coronavirus vaccine manufacturers. While there were no apparent breakthroughs, the visit was a way to show a unified front after ... Donald J. Trump's hostile exchanges with Ms. Merkel over NATO contributions, trade and multilateralism badly frayed relations. The meeting also comes before the chancellor's term ends.... 'Good friends can disagree,' said Mr. Biden, who appeared alongside Ms. Merkel at a news conference in the East Room after the meeting." The AP's report is here.

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "The story of voting rights in the United States looks ... like a sine wave; there are highs and lows, peaks and plateaus. President Biden captured this reality in his address on Tuesday at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, where he spoke on the gathering threat to our democracy from the Republican Party's twin efforts to suppress rival constituencies and seize control of state voting apparatuses.... As he points out, it is as focused on 'who gets to count the vote' as it is on 'who gets to vote.'... As much as Jim Crow dominates our collective memory of voting restrictions, it is the attack on suffrage in the North in those last decades of the 19th century that might actually be more relevant to our present situation.... Out of this furious attack on universal male suffrage (and also, in other corners, the rising call for women's suffrage) came a host of efforts to purify the electorate, spearheaded by Progressive reformers in both parties.... [The] claim, that Black and immigrant voters were venal and corrupt -- that they voted either illegally or irresponsibly -- was common."

U.S. Trained Alleged Assassins. Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "Some of the former Colombian servicemen arrested after last week's assassination of Haiti's president previously received U.S. military training, according to the Pentagon, raising fresh questions about the United States' ties to Jovenel Moïse's death. 'A review of our training databases indicates that a small number of the Colombian individuals detained as part of this investigation had participated in past U.S. military training and education programs, while serving as active members of the Colombian Military Forces,' Lt. Col. Ken Hoffman, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement to The Washington Post.... It is common for Colombian troops and other security personnel across Latin America to receive U.S. training and education. Colombia, in particular, has been a significant U.S. military partner for decades, receiving billions of U.S. dollars since 2000 in its effort to battle drug trafficking organizations, leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitary groups. Colombian military and police also use U.S.-provided weapons and equipment, an agreement that came under scrutiny earlier this year after police there killed multiple protesters during demonstrations against government tax proposals." A USA Today report is here.

Joan Greve of the Guardian: "Congresswoman Joyce Beatty, a Democrat of Ohio, was one of nine people arrested during a voting rights protest at the Capitol this afternoon. Beatty, who serves as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, shared a photo on Twitter of US Capitol police (USCP) officers putting a zip-tie on her and escorting her out of the building. 'Let the people vote. Fight for justice,' Beatty said in the tweet.... Beatty shared another tweet shortly after her arrest that said simply, '#GoodTrouble'.... The congresswoman had been participating in a protest calling on the Senate to pass the For the People Act, Democrats' sweeping election reform bill. The For the People Act passed the House in March, but it is being held up in the Senate because of a Republican filibuster." The New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: What's wrong with this picture? Why is it so easy for Capitol Police to decide to arrest a group of mostly Black women singing than it was to decide to arrest a gang of mostly white men attempting to violently overthrow the government? ~~~

Marie: I wonder if the insurrection would have happened if some Capitol Police captain had got on a bullhorn outside the building and broadcast, "You are all under arrest. Remain in place. The paddy wagons are on the way."

Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post: "Nathan Wayne Entrekin, a man who wore a Roman gladiator costume to the Jan. 6 Capitol..., was arrested by federal authorities on Thursday. Entrekin, whom online 'sedition hunters' had dubbed 'Caesar No Salad,' wore his costume to portray Captain Moroni, a figure from the Book of Mormon.... He was arrested in Cottonwood, Arizona.... On [his phone, agents] found videos of him narrating the scene for his mother (whom he lives with) about what he's seeing at the Capitol. 'I'm here, Mom!' Entrekin says in one video.... Entrekin, according to the feds, continued narrating the scene for his mother as he stormed the Capitol." Read on. The guy is unintentionally hilarious, as insurrectionists go -- the epitome of a Trumpbot. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's story is here: "Police say Entrekin told them in the interview that he had entered the federal building but said he did not realize he was not allowed inside, despite video that showed alarms blaring as he walked in. FBI agents also found videos on Entrekin's phone that showed him relaying that police had sprayed tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd. 'Here comes the riot police, Mom,' he allegedly said for the camera."

Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "Rep. Matt Gaetz's campaign paid $25,000 in June to a Manhattan criminal defense attorney who lists Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who killed himself in prison, as a notable client, according to a filing Thursday with the Federal Election Commission.... The June payment, for legal consulting, went to the law office of Marc Fernich, whose website says he specializes in 'subtle, novel and creative arguments that other attorneys may miss.'... [The website] lists Epstein, along with Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, the Mexican kingpin known as 'El Chapo,' among his 'Notable Clients.'" The Tampa Bay Times story is here.

Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "More companies that pledged to pause or rethink political donations after the Jan. 6 insurrection are once again donating to Republican lawmakers who voted against certifying President Biden's victory. The flow of money is a sign that the promises issued by corporate America were temporary, especially in light of razor-thin Democratic majorities. American Airlines was among the flock of companies vowing changes after the deadly assault on the Capitol.... According to a June report from the nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, more than $5 million in corporate or industry money has already gone to lawmakers who contested the election results or to aligned party committees." The Corporations for Irresponsibility & Unethical Behavior include Cigna, Aflac, UPS, Walmart, Pfizer, General Motors, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman.

Dentist, Extract Thyself. Tess Owen of Vice: "The American Dental Association has donated over $75,000 to [white nationalist Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Az.], a former dentist, since he was elected to Congress in 2010, making them his top donor.... Until recently, the American Dental Association, its political fundraising arm ADPAC, and the 162,000 dentists they represent, have been willing to turn a blind eye to Gosar's controversies on behalf of 'Tooth Party' interests. But Gosar's latest antics are creating fissures in the Tooth Party.... Gosar is one of five dentists currently in Congress, and he's been one of the American Dental Association's top recipients in the past three election cycles.... [A] #CallYourDentist campaign [to end ADA's backingof Gosar] may be having some impact: According to the 'Remove Paul Gosar' website, the American Dental Association hired a reception service to take calls from angry Americans. In an email to VICE News, the American Dental Association wrote that the issue of its ongoing support for Gosar was currently pending before the Board of Trustees and declined to comment any further."

Just. Plain. Selfish. Joan Biskupic of CNN: "Justice Stephen Breyer has not decided when he will retire and is especially gratified with his new role as the senior liberal on the bench, he told CNN in an exclusive interview -- his first public comments amid the incessant speculation of a Supreme Court vacancy. Far from Washington and the pressures of the recently completed session and chatter over his possible retirement, Breyer, a 27-year veteran of the high court, said Wednesday that two factors will be overriding in his decision. 'Primarily, of course, health,' said Breyer, who will turn 83 in August. 'Second, the court.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Notes on the Former Guy*

McCarthy Works to Ensure Trump Remains a Clear & Present Danger. Ryan Nobles & Melanie Zanona of CNN: "House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy met with Donald Trump on Thursday at the former President's Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, as the California Republican is considering which members of his conference to appoint to a special committee tasked with investigating the deadly January 6 riot at the US Capitol." (An update of a story linked yesterday.)

If I Were to Coup, It Wouldn't Be with You. Jill Colvin of the AP: "In a lengthy statement [issued Thursday], Trump responded to revelations in a new book detailing fears from Gen. Mark Milley that the outgoing president would stage a coup during his final weeks in office. Trump said he's 'not into coups' and 'never threatened, or spoke about, to anyone, a coup of our Government.' At the same time, Trump said that 'if I was going to do a coup, one of the last people I would want to do it with is' Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump has been expressing regret in recent weeks that he didn't order the White House flag lowered to half-staff for slain U.S. Capitol rioter Ashli Babbitt.... Trump and his allies have been trying to portray Babbitt as a martyr shot down by a rogue police officer, rather than a rioter seen on video climbing through a broken window to a secure area where lawmakers hid in fear for their lives, and they're fixated on learning the name of the officer who killed her."

** The Washington Post publishes Part 2 of excerpts from Carol Leonnig & Philip Rucker's book I Alone Can Fix It. This part covers some of the events of January 6. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jared Kushner, Boy Hero. Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "Journalist Michael Wolff's new book, Landslide, describes [Jared] Kushner's role over the four years in office as staffing up the White House with his own loyalists who could circumvent Trump's demands. 'The four-year history of the Trump White House was, in one sense, the unlikely story of the rise and strange effectiveness of Jared Kushner,' wrote Wolff. 'Much of the West Wing and campaign staffs were made up of people whom Jared had picked. Their common characteristic was that, while they were tolerant of Trump, they could be counted on to slow-walk his worst excesses; some..., acting for Kushner, even often sought to put a brake on them. Kushner, both for temperamental and strategic reasons, would not, in almost any circumstance, directly confront his father-in-law.'" MB: Now, I wonder who could have been the source for this tale tale. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Book Report. Dwight Garner of the New York Times: "Two new books about the final year of Donald J. Trump's presidency are entering the cultural bloodstream. The first, 'Landslide,' by the gadfly journalist Michael Wolff, is the one to leap upon, even though the second, 'I Alone Can Fix It,' from the Washington Post journalists Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, is vastly more earnest and diligent, to a fault.... [The Leonnig/Rucker book] reads like 300 daily newspaper articles taped together so that they resemble an inky Kerouacian scroll.... A primary and not insignificant achievement in 'I Alone Can Fix It,' however, is its bravura introduction of a new American hero, a man who has heretofore not received a great deal of attention: Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A better title for this book might have been 'Mr. Milley Goes to Washington.'... But 'Landslide' is a smart, vivid and intrepid book. [Wolff] has great instincts."

Luke Harding, et al., of the Guardian: "Vladimir Putin personally authorised a secret spy agency operation to support a 'mentally unstable' Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election during a closed session of Russia's national security council, according to what are assessed to be leaked Kremlin documents. The key meeting took place on 22 January 2016, the papers suggest, with the Russian president, his spy chiefs and senior ministers all present. They agreed a Trump White House would help secure Moscow's strategic objectives, among them 'social turmoil' in the US and a weakening of the American president's negotiating position. Russia's three spy agencies were ordered to find practical ways to support Trump, in a decree appearing to bear Putin's signature.... Western intelligence agencies are understood to have been aware of the documents for some months.... There is a brief psychological assessment of Trump, who is described as an 'impulsive, mentally unstable and unbalanced individual who suffers from an inferiority complex'. There is also apparent confirmation that the Kremlin possesses kompromat, or potentially compromising material, on the future president, collected -- the document says -- from Trump's earlier 'non-official visits to Russian Federation territory'." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "But it's hard not to be skeptical of the [supposed Kremlin] document, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it's very neat.... More to that point is the vague reference to compromising material on Trump collected during 'non-official visits to Russian Federation territory,' the long-sought kompromat of legend.... The document also shows a remarkable perspicacity on the part of the Russian government.... It is odd that this document, so closely related to the national discourse over the past five years, only emerged now." MB: I think the doc is a fake; it seems to describe what we know now, not what was known in 2015 & 2016. It is entirely possible, IMO, that the doc did come from the Kremlin, but it was cooked up last week, not four or five years ago.

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "A self-proclaimed 'Bitcoin millionaire' is pitching a mobile device called the 'Freedom Phone' to supporters of ... Donald Trump -- but as the Daily Beast's Will Sommer reports, it looks like a massive grift. It turns out that the phone, which was created by conservative cryptocurrency enthusiast Erik Finman, 'appears to be merely a more expensive rebranding of a budget Chinese phone available elsewhere for a fraction of the Freedom Phone's price,' writes Sommer."

"I Know It Cost $28MM, but I'm Busy That Day." Christian Davenport of the Washington Post: "Blue Origin announced Thursday that 18-year-old Oliver Daemen of the Netherlands will be joining founder Jeff Bezos on the company's first crewed spaceflight after the winner of a $28 million auction postponed. Blue Origin said the auction winner, who has asked to remain anonymous, would fly 'on a future mission due to scheduling conflicts.' A company spokesman said Daemen, an incoming physics and innovation management student at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, had participated in the auction and 'secured a seat on the second flight. We moved him up when this seat on the first flight became available.' The company would not say how much Daemen bid. His father is Joes Daemen, the founder and chief executive of Somerset Capital Partners, which invests in real estate, private equity and financial markets." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.

Geoff Brumfiel of NPR: "With about a third of adults in the U.S. still completely unvaccinated, and cases of COVID-19 on the rise, the U.S. surgeon general is calling for a war against 'health misinformation.' On Thursday, Dr. Vivek Murthy released the first surgeon general's advisory of his time serving in the Biden administration, describing the 'urgent threat' posed by the rise of false information around COVID-19 -- one that continues to put 'lives at risk' and prolong the pandemic." ~~~

~~~ Dan Diamond, et al., of the Washington Post: "What began as 'vaccine hesitancy' has morphed into outright vaccine hostility, as conservatives increasingly attack the White House's coronavirus message, mischaracterize its vaccination campaign and, more and more, vow to skip the shots altogether. The notion that the vaccine drive is pointless or harmful -- or perhaps even a government plot -- is increasingly an article of faith among supporters of ... Donald Trump, on a par with assertions that the last election was stolen and the assault on the U.S. Capitol was overblown." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mitch Smith & Julie Bosman of the New York Times: "The number of new coronavirus cases is increasing in every state, setting off a growing sense of concern from health officials who are warning that the pandemic in the United States is far from over, even though the national outlook is far better than during previous upticks. The 160 million people across the country who are fully vaccinated are largely protected from the virus, including the highly contagious Delta variant, scientists say. In the Upper Midwest, the Northeast and on the West Coast -- including in Chicago, Boston and San Francisco -- coronavirus infections remain relatively low. But the picture is different in pockets of the country where residents are vaccinated at lower rates. Hot spots have emerged in recent weeks in parts of Missouri, Arkansas and Nevada, among other states, leaving hospital workers strained as they care for an influx of coronavirus patients. Less than a month after reports of new cases nationally bottomed out at around 11,000 a day, virus cases overall are increasing again, with about 26,000 new cases a day, and hospitalizations are on the rise."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

California. Victoria Colliver of Politico: "Los Angeles County will reinstate indoor mask requirements in public spaces for all this weekend, regardless of vaccination status, amid an alarming rise in Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta variant. Thursday's announcement by the nation's largest county sent a chill through the state just one month into California's long-awaited reopening. And it could prompt other local health officials to follow suit, complicating the post-pandemic recovery narrative of Gov. Gavin Newsom as he faces a September recall election."

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Andrew Oxford & Mary Jo Pitzi of the Arizona Republic: "Arizona Senate President Karen Fann said Thursday that the Legislature needs more materials and data from Maricopa County for an unprecedented and controversial review of 2020 election results that is deep into its third month.... Fann said during a hearing at the Capitol that she expects the demands for additional materials will end up in court.... Also during the hearing, the Senate's top contractor on the review [Cyber Ninjas] recommended reviving plans to go door to door to inquire about some residents' participation in last year's general election.... Doing both a canvass of voters and taking the county back to court means the review effort that appeared to be wrapping up is likely to last even longer. Initially, the review was slated to end in May. ~~~

~~~ Democracy Docket: "On Thursday, the Arizona Superior Court in Maricopa County deniedthe state Senate's request to dismiss a case seeking records of the Republican-led 'audit' of the 2020 election. The case, filed by the nonpartisan watchdog group American Oversight, asks for the release of all documents relating to the audit of the 2020 Maricopa County election results."

New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is expected to be questioned on Saturday by investigators from the New York State attorney general's office, signaling that a four-month-long inquiry into several sexual harassment accusations may be entering its final stages. Joon H. Kim and Anne L. Clark, the two outside lawyers hired to lead the investigation that is being overseen by Letitia James, the state attorney general, are expected to interview the governor in Albany, according to two people familiar with the matter. The lawyers have spent months gathering hours of testimony from several women who have accused Mr. Cuomo of sexual misconduct or harassment. The lawyers have also in recent weeks interviewed senior administration officials in preparation for questioning the governor." CNN's story is here.

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. Ezzatullah Mehrdad of the Washington Post: "A Reuters photojournalist was killed in southern Afghanistan while covering the fight between Afghan government forces and the Taliban, Reuters confirmed Friday. Danish Siddiqui, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer from India, was embedded with Afghan forces attempting to retake a handful of districts that recently fell to the militants.... Siddiqui was with an Afghan special forces unit attempting to retake the district of Spin Boldak, southeast of Kandahar city along the border with Pakistan. He was killed along with a senior Afghan officer, according to the Reuters report."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Following a day of frantic rescue efforts and orders to evacuate towns rapidly filling with water unloosed by violent storms, the German authorities said late Thursday that after confirming scores of deaths, they were unable to account for at least 1,300 people. That staggering figure was announced after swift-moving water from swollen rivers surged through cities and villages in two western German states, where news outlets said more than 80 people were known to have died in the hardest-hit regions and other fatalities were expected.... The storms and resulting high water also battered neighboring Switzerland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg as a slow-moving weather system threatened to dump even more rain on the inundated region overnight and into Friday." An AP story is here.

New York Times: "Esther Bejarano..., [who] played accordion in the women's orchestra at Auschwitz..., died on Saturday at a hospital in Hamburg, Germany. She was 96.... Mrs. Bejarano's death was announced by the International Auschwitz Committee, which was founded by survivors of the death camp and to which she belonged, serving as a powerful voice against intolerance in her later years."

Washington Post: "Three weeks after rescue crews began searching for victims, officials said they were nearing the end of their search for those trapped in the ruins of the Champlain Towers South condo building, a somber bookend to one of the deadliest such collapses in U.S. history. In total, 97 people have been confirmed dead -- young couples, entire families and retirees whose footprints stretched across multiple continents. No survivors had been found since the initial hours after the collapse. A Miami-Dade police spokesman said that as of Thursday, 97 missing reports had been confirmed, a number equal to the dead."

The Commentariat -- July 15, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Sarah Kolinovsky, et al., of ABC News: "As the first round of monthly child tax credits hit Americans' bank accounts Thursday, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took a victory lap..., speaking about the 'historic day' for American families and emphasizing the sea change the payments could represent for millions of American children living in poverty. 'Today, for families all over our country, for children all over our country, help is here,' Harris said, before introducing the president. 'This has never happened before. And America, yes, it is a big deal.' Biden and Harris marked the rollout of checks and direct deposits from the child tax credit with a White House event featuring Americans set to benefit."

Just. Plain. Selfish. Joan Biskupic of CNN: "Justice Stephen Breyer has not decided when he will retire and is especially gratified with his new role as the senior liberal on the bench, he told CNN in an exclusive interview -- his first public comments amid the incessant speculation of a Supreme Court vacancy. Far from Washington and the pressures of the recently completed session and chatter over his possible retirement, Breyer, a 27-year veteran of the high court, said Wednesday that two factors will be overriding in his decision. 'Primarily, of course, health,' said Breyer, who will turn 83 in August. 'Second, the court.'"

McCarthy Works to Ensure Trump Remains a Clear & Present Danger. Ryan Nobles of CNN: "House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy is expected to meet with ... Donald Trump on Thursday, as the California Republican is considering which members of his conference to appoint to a special committee tasked with investigating the deadly January 6 riot at the US Capitol."

** The Washington Post publishes Part 2 of excerpts from Carol Leonnig & Philip Rucker's book I Alone Can Fix It. This part covers some of the events of January 6.

Luke Harding, et al., of the Guardian: "Vladimir Putin personally authorised a secret spy agency operation to support a 'mentally unstable' Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election during a closed session of Russia's national security council, according to what are assessed to be leaked Kremlin documents. The key meeting took place on 22 January 2016, the papers suggest, with the Russian president, his spy chiefs and senior ministers all present. They agreed a Trump White House would help secure Moscow's strategic objectives, among them 'social turmoil' in the US and a weakening of the American president's negotiating position. Russia's three spy agencies were ordered to find practical ways to support Trump, in a decree appearing to bear Putin's signature.... Western intelligence agencies are understood to have been aware of the documents for some months.... There is a brief psychological assessment of Trump, who is described as an 'impulsive, mentally unstable and unbalanced individual who suffers from an inferiority complex'. There is also apparent confirmation that the Kremlin possesses kompromat, or potentially compromising material, on the future president, collected -- the document says -- from Trump's earlier 'non-official visits to Russian Federation territory'." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link.

Jared Kushner, Boy Hero. Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "Journalist Michael Wolff's new book, Landslide, describes [Jared] Kushner's role over the four years in office as staffing up the White House with his own loyalists who could circumvent Trump's demands. 'The four-year history of the Trump White House was, in one sense, the unlikely story of the rise and strange effectiveness of Jared Kushner,' wrote Wolff. 'Much of the West Wing and campaign staffs were made up of people whom Jared had picked. Their common characteristic was that, while they were tolerant of Trump, they could be counted on to slow-walk his worst excesses; some..., acting for Kushner, even often sought to put a brake on them. Kushner, both for temperamental and strategic reasons, would not, in almost any circumstance, directly confront his father-in-law.'" MB: Now, I wonder who could have been the source for this tale tale.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here.

Dan Diamond, et al., of the Washington Post: "What began as 'vaccine hesitancy' has morphed into outright vaccine hostility, as conservatives increasingly attack the White House's coronavirus message, mischaracterize its vaccination campaign and, more and more, vow to skip the shots altogether. The notion that the vaccine drive is pointless or harmful -- or perhaps even a government plot -- is increasingly an article of faith among supporters of ... Donald Trump, on a par with assertions that the last election was stolen and the assault on the U.S. Capitol was overblown."

"I Know It Cost $28MM, but I'm Busy That Day." Christian Davenport of the Washington Post: "Blue Origin announced Thursday that 18-year-old Oliver Daemen of the Netherlands will be joining founder Jeff Bezos on the company's first crewed spaceflight after the winner of a $28 million auction postponed. Blue Origin said the auction winner, who has asked to remain anonymous, would fly 'on a future mission due to scheduling conflicts.' A company spokesman said Daemen, an incoming physics and innovation management student at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, had participated in the auction and 'secured a seat on the second flight. We moved him up when this seat on the first flight became available.' The company would not say how much Daemen bid. His father is Joes Daemen, the founder and chief executive of Somerset Capital Partners, which invests in real estate, private equity and financial markets."

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Jonathan Weisman, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden and congressional Democrats vowed on Wednesday to push through a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint to vastly expand social and environmental programs by extending the reach of education and health care, taxing the rich and tackling the warming of the planet. The legislation is far from passage, but top Democrats have agreed on working to include several far-reaching details. They include universal prekindergarten for all 3- and 4-year-olds, two years of free community college, clean energy requirements for utilities and lower prescription drug prices. Medicare benefits would be expanded, and green cards would be extended to some undocumented immigrants. At a closed-door luncheon in the Capitol, Mr. Biden rallied Democrats and the independents aligned with them to embrace the plan, which would require every single one of their votes to move forward over united Republican opposition. But several moderate lawmakers who are crucial to the plan's success had yet to say whether they would accept the proposal. Mr. Biden's message was 'be unified, strong, big and courageous,' Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said." ~~~

     ~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Wednesday he's open to the $3.5 trillion spending agreement reached by Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee, which would be entirely paid for with yet to be specified tax measures, but he's holding back on fully endorsing the deal until further review. Manchin's cautious optimism about the agreement means that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer's (D-N.Y.) two-track strategy for moving President Biden's infrastructure agenda is still moving in the right direction." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "Democrats have agreed to include a tax on imports from nations that lack aggressive climate change policies as part of a sweeping $3.5 trillion budget plan stocked with other provisions aimed at ratcheting down fossil fuel pollution in the United States. The move to tax imports was made public Wednesday, the same day that the European Union outlined its own proposal for a similar carbon border tax, a novel tool that is designed to protect domestic manufacturing while simultaneously pressuring other countries to reduce the emissions that are warming the planet.... Top Democrats called the timing coincidental but said both the United States and Europe must work together to put pressure on China and other heavy polluting countries to reduce emissions." ~~~

~~~ Steven Erlanger & Somini Sengupta of the New York Times: "In what may be a seminal moment in the global effort to fight climate change, Europe on Wednesday challenged the rest of the world by laying out an ambitious blueprint to pivot away from fossil fuels over the next nine years, a plan that has the potential to set off global trade disputes. The most radical, and possibly contentious, proposal would impose tariffs on certain imports from countries with less stringent climate-protection rules. The proposals also include eliminating the sales of new gas- and diesel-powered cars in just 14 years, and raising the price of using fossil fuels." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Karen DeYoung & David Lynch of the Washington Post: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel will visit President Biden at the White House Thursday for discussions on a host of outstanding economic and foreign policy issues, with little likelihood that any of them will be settled. Instead, what is characterized as a 'working' trip will be an opportunity to reaffirm close bilateral ties and to underline what a senior German official called 'the continuity and importance of the relationship' as Merkel prepares to step down following September elections after 16 years in office."

The Check Is in the Mail. Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration on Thursday is launching the biggest anti-poverty program undertaken by the federal government in more than a half-century, delivering monthly payments to the overwhelming majority of American parents for the first time. The Department of Treasury said it has sent checks to households representing approximately 60 million children under a provision in the stimulus package passed by Democrats in March. The payments can be withdrawn Thursday but appeared in many bank accounts as early as Wednesday. The benefit, expected to cost roughly $120 billion per year, provides $300 per child under age 6, as well as $250 per child 6 or older. The administration previously said that roughly 88 percent of all U.S. children nationwide would receive the aid. The program is a major political and economic test for President Biden and his administration."

Sarah Kolinovsky & Conor Finnegan of ABC News: "The Biden administration will begin evacuation flights in late July for Afghans who have aided the U.S. military and diplomatic missions, according to a senior administration official. President Joe Biden earlier this month said all U.S. combat forces will be out of Afghanistan by Aug. 31 and defended his decision to leave the country in the face of Taliban gains in the area.... The evacuation effort, dubbed Operation Allies Refuge, will relocate Afghans who have applied for a U.S. Special Immigrant Visa and their families to a safe third country, but it is still unclear how many of these translators, guides and other contractors will be moved and to exactly where."

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "President Biden's decision to withdraw completely from Afghanistan is overwhelmingly popular. It's also strongly bipartisan in a way very few things are these days.... While speaking to Deutsche Welle in Germany, [former President George W. Bush] had some rather unvarnished thoughts on the pullout from Afghanistan, a war he launched after 9/11. Bush flatly agreed that it [was] 'a mistake' and warned of looming tragedies and atrocities.... The fact that he's sought to make this argument, however self-serving and academic at this point, reinforces how this might not be such a consensus issue moving forward -- and how it almost certainly won't be a simple one." MB: Another extraordinary aspect to Bush's remarks: he made them outside the U.S.

Joseph Marks of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration is increasing its efforts to disrupt ransomware campaigns and punish the criminals who launch them. Among the new initiatives is a new State Department program that's being announced today offering rewards of up to $10 million for information that helps halt or punish hackers that lock up computers at vital U.S. industries and hold them for ransom. It's an offshoot of a program called Rewards for Justice aimed at combating international terrorism -- another sign the administration is increasingly treating ransomware as a top national security threat."

David Lynch of the Washington Post: "On Friday, President Biden called on regulators to crack down on consolidation in the shipping and rail industries, as part of a broad executive order promoting competition throughout the U.S. economy. Freight may seem a prosaic topic for presidential attention. But the smooth movement of goods has perhaps never been more essential, amid the explosion of e-commerce that accompanied the pandemic. Transport bottlenecks in June helped fuel the highest inflation in 13 years, rattling Americans with sticker shock on goods such as used cars, airfare and bacon.... The White House officials who drafted Biden's order say high freight costs, resulting from a lack of competition, are an economywide drag." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: OR, customers could try my bitch-a-lot method. Sunday, I was about to make an online purchase of an item that cost about $275. But when I got to the last page in the check-out process, I learned that the shipping charges were $290. So I didn't make the purchase, but I called the company Monday and told them I thought they had miscalculated the shipping charges. I got a song-and-dance. I was polite, but I said I wasn't going to make the purchase as their shipping charges were 6 or 7 times higher than what another company had just charged me for shipping an item of similar size and weight from the same state. Half an hour later the song-and-dance lady called me back & said the company had reduced the shipping charge from $290 to $45. Okay then.

Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is expected to announce on Thursday that it will move forward with a plan to fully restore environmental protections to Tongass National Forest in Alaska, one of the world's largest intact temperate rain forests. The protections had been stripped away by ... Donald J. Trump. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, whose agency includes the United States Forest Service, is expected to announce the news, according to a person briefed on the matter who asked to speak anonymously because it had not yet been made public."

Natalie Fertig of Politico: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released sweeping draft legislation Wednesday to legalize weed, officially kickstarting a difficult debate in his chamber that also makes a major splash for one of his campaign promises. The measure floated by the New York Democrat -- along with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) -- proposes removing federal penalties on cannabis, expunging nonviolent federal cannabis-related criminal records and letting states decide if or how to legalize the drug." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "The House Oversight and Reform Committee is launching an investigation into Arizona's GOP-commissioned review of the 2020 presidential election and the private contractor leading the effort, whose chief executive has echoed ... Donald Trump's false claims. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the committee, and Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.) sent a letter Wednesday to Douglas Logan, CEO of Cyber Ninjas, seeking correspondences, documents and other information about his Florida-based company's review of nearly 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County. 'The committee is seeking to determine whether the privately funded audit conducted by your company in Arizona protects the right to vote or is instead an effort to promote baseless conspiracy theories, undermine confidence in America's elections, and reverse the result of a free and fair election for partisan gain,' Maloney and Raskin ... wrote to Logan." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Rachel Maddow reported that Maloney & Raskin had to send their letter to a UPS mailbox store because Cyber Ninjas apparently doesn't have a real street address. Well, of course not, Rachel. They're cyber ninjas. I checked the Googles, and Cyber Ninjas does have a URL, and their Website has a facility to send them a message online. No return receipt, I guess.

Juliet Macur & Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "The Justice Department's inspector general released a long-awaited report on Wednesday that sharply criticized the F.B.I.'s handling of the sexual abuse case involving Lawrence G. Nassar, the former doctor for the U.S.A. Gymnastics national team and Michigan State sports, which led to Mr. Nassar's continued abuse of girls and women. Mr. Nassar, who is serving what amounts to life in prison, has been accused of abusing hundreds of female patients -- including the Olympic champion Simone Biles and a majority of the last two United States women's Olympic gymnastics teams -- under the guise of medical treatment.... The inspector general's report said senior F.B.I. officials in the Indianapolis field office failed to respond to the allegations 'with the utmost seriousness and urgency that they deserved and required' and the investigation did not proceed until after a September 2016 report by The Indianapolis Star detailed Mr. Nassar's abuse." Politico's report, by Josh Gerstein, is here.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "An Idaho man photographed hanging from the Senate balcony and sitting in the presiding officer's chair in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot pleaded guilty Wednesday to felony obstruction of Congress, admitting to joining a group who came to Washington armed with firearms, knives and body armor to support ... Donald Trump. Josiah B. Colt, 34, became the latest defendant to agree to cooperate in the breach investigation, seeking to pare down a possible recommended five-year prison sentence. Though Colt is not accused of being part of a larger militia-like group, he admitted in plea papers to joining at least two men from Nevada and Tennessee who arranged travel, raised funds, bought paramilitary gear and recorded themselves before breaking in to the building and rushing to the Senate just evacuated by lawmakers."

Notes on the Former Guy*:

Reis Thebault of the Washington Post: "In the waning weeks of Donald Trump's term, the country's top military leader repeatedly worried about what the president might do to maintain power after losing reelection, comparing his rhetoric to Adolf Hitler's during the rise of Nazi Germany and asking confidants whether a coup was forthcoming, according to a new book by two Washington Post reporters. As Trump ceaselessly pushed false claims about the 2020 presidential election, Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, grew more and more nervous, telling aides he feared that the president and his acolytes might attempt to use the military to stay in office, Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker report in 'I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year.' Milley described 'a stomach-churning' feeling as he listened to Trump's untrue complaints of election fraud, drawing a comparison to the 1933 attack on Germany's parliament building that Hitler used as a pretext to establish a Nazi dictatorship.... [Milley] saw himself as one of the last empowered defenders of democracy during some of the darkest days in the country's recent history." ~~~

     ~~~ Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Shortly before the deadly attack on the US Capitol on 6 January, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Gen Mark Milley, told aides the US was facing a 'Reichstag moment' because Donald Trump was preaching 'the gospel of the Führer', according to an eagerly awaited book [by Philip Rucker & Carol Leonnig ]about Trump's last year in office." ~~~

     ~~~ Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "The top US military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley, was so shaken that ... Donald Trump and his allies might attempt a coup or take other dangerous or illegal measures after the November election that Milley and other top officials informally planned for different ways to stop Trump, according to excerpts of an upcoming book obtained by CNN. The book, from Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, describes how Milley and the other Joint Chiefs discussed a plan to resign, one-by-one, rather than carry out orders from Trump that they considered to be illegal, dangerous or ill-advised. 'It was a kind of Saturday Night Massacre in reverse,' Leonnig and Rucker write." ~~~

~~~ Lexi Lonas of the Hill: "Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) told Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that he was responsible for the Capitol riot while the scene was evolving on Jan. 6, according to a new book. In 'I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year,' Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker write about a phone call between Cheney and Gen. Mark Milley<, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in which the Wyoming Republican describes a confrontation she had with Jordan during the riot, CNN reported. 'That f---ing guy Jim Jordan. That son of a b----.... While these maniacs are going through the place, I'm standing in the aisle and he said, "We need to get the ladies away from the aisle. Let me help you." I smacked his hand away and told him, "Get away from me. You f---ing did this,"' Cheney reportedly told the general."

Todd Frankel & Jay Greene of the Washington Post: "Federal safety regulators filed a lawsuit against Amazon on Wednesday that accuses the retail giant of refusing to recognize regulators' authority to force the company to recall defective and unsafe products, setting up a fight over how much responsibility Amazon should take for the products it sells on its website. The action by the Consumer Product Safety Commission comes after months of behind-the-scenes negotiations between regulators and Amazon as the agency tried to persuade the company to follow the CPSC's rules for getting dangerous products off the market, according to a senior agency official.... The official said Amazon officials refused to acknowledge that the CPSC has the authority to compel the company to remove unsafe products."

Charles Pierce of Esquire: "If there is a less excusable human being walking upright than Ken Starr, head huntsman of the Great Penis Chase of 1998, then I'm hard pressed to think of who it is. Since his salacious moment in the national spotlight, Starr has presided over a disastrous sexual-misconduct scandal and alleged cover-up at Baylor University in Texas. He took a job as part of the former president*'s defense team during Impeachment I, an indication that he was less offended by extramarital foolery than he used to be. And now comes a book by Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald, the journalist who blew open the story of Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking empire and the sweetheart plea deal that helped enable it, in which Starr is featured as a legal engine behind said plea bargain. (Guardian story on Brown's revelations linked below.) Firewalled. MB: I am informed this is my last freebie-of-the-month. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Here are six candidates for Pierce's list of inexcusable human beings: Alito, Roberts, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavenaugh & Barrett. ~~~

Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times: "The Voting Rights Act decision that concluded the Supreme Court term this month offered two mutually exclusive visions of what the right to vote means today. Justice Samuel Alito's opinion for the six-justice majority insisted that the law should pay little mind to the occasional 'inconvenience' of casting a ballot. Justice Elena Kagan's dissenting opinion, joined by two other justices, accused the majority of taking the 'grand and obvious' right to an 'equal opportunityto vote' and reducing it to nothing more than 'equality-lite.' The competing visions in the Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee decision reflected profoundly different understandings of what law needs to do to keep the basic mechanics of democracy functioning.... In the three dissenters' view, a voting regulation with a racially disparate impact is invalid if the plaintiff can show that the state's interest can be met by a less discriminatory policy. This was [a] 'radical' interpretation of Section 2 that ... alarmed Justice Alito." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Alito's view of "inconvenience" makes perfect sense to confederates. There's a moral imperative here. All people -- they believe -- should be as "civilized" as they are. So it isn't so much voting rights that should be equal; it's "inconvenience." If you have got yourself in a situation where it's less convenient for you to vote than it is for Sam Alito (say it's a hardship to get a required identity card), then that's your own damned fault. People who enjoy the right to vote enjoy it because they have arranged their lives in such a way that state laws don't make it especially inconvenient for them to cast their ballots. Everybody should live as these lucky duckies do, where the "inconveniences" to voting are relatively equal. Those who don't live this righteous life must learn to live with the hurdles legislatures have put in front of them.

Joe Coscarelli, et al., of the New York Times: "More than 13 years after being deemed mentally unfit to choose her own legal representation, Britney Spears can hire a high-powered Hollywood lawyer, [Mathew Rosengart,] a Los Angeles judge ruled on Wednesday, signaling a new phase in the battle to end the conservatorship that controls the singer's life. The decision by Judge Brenda Penny came at the first hearing since Ms. Spears, 39, called the conservatorship that she has lived under since 2008 abusive and said that she wanted it to end without her having to undergo additional psychiatric evaluations."

Danish Company Imposes Some Sanity on U.S. Gun Modifier. Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "At first glance, the gun resembled a toy, one whose building blocks were the ubiquitous red, yellow, blue and green Legos. But beneath the surface of its colorful shell was something lethal: a Glock 19 pistol that had been customized by a Utah-based company that specializes in modifications to firearms. The Lego Group, the Danish brand known for being fiercely protective of its intellectual property and likeness, recently demanded that the company, Culper Precision of Provo, Utah, stop selling the casing.... 'We have contacted the company and they have agreed to remove the product from their website and not make or sell anything like this in the future,' Lego said in an email statement on Wednesday."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Apoorva Mandavilli & Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "The [Delta] variant, the most contagious version yet of the coronavirus, accounts for more than half of new infections in the United States,federal health officials reported this month. The spread of the variant has prompted a vigorous new vaccination push from the Biden administration, and federal officials are planning to send medical teams to communities facing outbreaks that now seem inevitable.... Broadly speaking, the West and Northeast have relatively high rates of vaccination, while the South has the least. The vaccinated and unvaccinated 'two Americas' -- as Dr. Anthony S. Fauci ... has called them -- also are divided along political lines. Counties that voted for Mr. Biden average higher vaccination levels than those that voted for Donald Trump. Conservatives tend to decline vaccination far more often than Democrats."

Max Hauptman of the Washington Post: "An Alabama military base is taking increased actions to combat the ongoing prevalence of coronavirus infections, authorizing leaders to ask for proof of vaccination of service members not wearing a mask while on duty. It is the first military base in the continental United States to allow leaders to check the vaccination status of those in uniform. The new guidance at Fort Rucker comes as the new delta variant of the virus continues to drive infection rates and now accounts for a majority of cases in the United States. The base is among facilities, including Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, Fort Sill in Oklahoma and Fort Jackson in South Carolina, where less than half of the surrounding populations have been vaccinated." MB: Let's see if the Congressional Anti-Vax Caucus goes nuts over this.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: Some normal people react to the so-called Tennessee health department's decision to halt all vaccination out reach -- for all diseases -- in their effort to "own the libs" by "killing the kids." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Florida. Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "'Don't Fauci My Florida,' read drink koozies and T-shirts that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's campaign team >rolled out just as his state sees some of the highest coronavirus hospitalizations, new infections and deaths per capita in the country.... New coronavirus infection numbers plummeted in Florida after vaccinations became widely available, but they have ticked up in recent weeks. The state is reporting daily cases close to four times the national average.... [DeSantis' merchandise] the latest example of Republicans running on their opposition to virus-fueled shutdowns and mask mandates.... A key part of [DeSantis'] pitch [for 2022 (gubernatorial) & 2024 (presidential*)]: He resisted public health experts' calls for stricter measures against the spread of the coronavirus, spurring criticism on the left and praise from the right for keeping his state's schools and economy comparatively open." ~~~

     ~~~ In reporting this story on-air, CNN posted a chyron citing a June 7 tweet by DeSantis: "... FLORIDA CHOSE FREEDOM OVER FAUCISM." (All CAPS original.) MB: To put it as delicately as possible, DeSantis is one sick fuck.

Josh Katz & Margot Sanger-Katz of the New York Times: "As Covid raged, so did the country's other epidemic. Drug overdose deaths rose nearly 30 percent in 2020 to a record 93,000, according to preliminary statistics released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It's the largest single-year increase recorded. The deaths rose in every state but two, South Dakota and New Hampshire, with pronounced increases in the South and West. Several grim records were set: the most drug overdose deaths in a year; the most deaths from opioid overdoses; the most overdose deaths from stimulants like methamphetamine; the most deaths from the deadly class of synthetic opioids known as fentanyls."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Prosecutorial "Discretion," Confederate-Style. Brittany Shamas, et al.,; of the Washington Post: "Scores of people crowded a major Miami-area highway Tuesday, chanting in support of rare protests that erupted days earlier in Cuba against the country's communist government. The rally caused an hours-long closure on part of the Palmetto Expressway in Miami-Dade County. It was the sort of scene envisioned by a divisive Florida law that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) pushed amid last year's wave of racial justice demonstrations. The legislation calls for protesters to be cited if they block traffic. But no citations were given Tuesday, according to state and local law enforcement. Critics took issue with the lack of citations, saying the law is unclear or unevenly applied. DeSantis, who invoked the possibility of protesters shutting down a highway as he signed the bill into law, has been vocal in his support of rallies against the Cuban government. Asked about the Palmetto Expressway protests during a Tuesday roundtable with reporters, he said the recent demonstrations were 'fundamentally different' than last summer's protests that had inspired the law.... Florida Rep. Anna Eskamani, a Democrat who opposed the law, said it was '100 percent applicable' to the protest in the Miami area. She criticized the 'hypocrisy' and said the lack of enforcement showed that the law was aimed specifically at Black Lives Matter demonstrations" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: C'mon, Anna. This law -- like many other confederate-backed laws -- was never meant to be applied against groups of people likely disposed to vote Republican. It's like the jelly-bean-counting test. On paper, it applies to everyone, but it's only imposed upon Black people and/or left-leaning groups.

Michigan. Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "The executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, who said the 2020 presidential election wasn't stolen and blamed Donald Trump for the GOP loss, has resigned. Jason Roe, a veteran strategist who was brought on in February, stepped down from the post but declined to expand on why he resigned less than six months later, the Detroit Free Press reported." The Detroit Free Press story is here.

Way Beyond

Brazil. Ernesto Londoño of the New York Times: "President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil faced possible emergency surgery for an intestinal obstruction after doctors on Wednesday ordered that he be flown to a hospital in São Paulo for evaluation, the government said. The obstruction is related to a stabbing injury Mr. Bolsonaro suffered in 2018 as he campaigned for president. He had complained in recent days about a persistent bout of hiccups, which had lasted more than 10 days, but it was unclear whether that was related."

Haiti. Anatoly Kurmanaev, et al., of the New York Times: "Several of the central figures under investigation by the Haitian authorities in connection with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse gathered in the months before the killing to discuss rebuilding the troubled nation once the president was out of power, according to the Haitian police, Colombian intelligence officers and participants in the discussions. The meetings, conducted in Florida and the Dominican Republic over the last year, appear to connect a seemingly disparate collection of suspects in the investigation, linking a 63-year-old doctor and pastor, a security equipment salesman, and a mortgage and insurance broker in Florida. All have been identified by the Haitian authorities as prominent players in a sprawling plot to kill the president with the help of more than 20 former Colombian commandos. But the ties between them have been murky, at best, and until recently it was not clear how, or even if, they knew one another." ~~~

~~~ Widlore Merancourt & Rachel Pannett of the Washington Post: "The head of security [Dimitri Hérard] at the presidential palace [in Port-au-Prince] has been taken into custody as part of an investigation into the mysterious assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.... Much public anger has been directed against Hérard, as Haitians wonder how a team of alleged assassins appeared to easily infiltrate Moïse's residence but were later swiftly taken into custody.... Haitian police on Wednesday evening announced the arrest of two new suspects, including a former top police officer, as their investigation continues. Four high-ranking members of the president's security detail are also being held in isolation as authorities continue to track down other fugitives, police chief Léon Charles told reporters during a news conference."

News Lede:

Washington Post: "Devastating floods swept across a swath of Western Europe on Thursday, engulfing whole villages in raging muddy brown waters, overturning cars and killing at least 67 people and leaving more than 1,300 unaccounted for after a summer deluge at levels not seen in some areas for a century. At least 58 people died in Germany, by far the worst-hit country, where whole villages were cut off from rescuers and helicopters were deployed to pluck the stranded off rooftops. Some houses were simply washed away as a tributary of the Rhine burst its banks."

The Commentariat -- July 14, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Tony Romm, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden heads to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to rally Senate Democrats around two bills totaling more than $4 trillion that advance critical elements of his economic agenda, including new investments in aging infrastructure and programs to fight climate change and improve health care. Biden's salesmanship opens a new political chapter in what will probably be a winding, tough debate on Capitol Hill in Congress, particularly because Democrats are divided over whether they should take the early deals they have reached, including with Republicans, or try to leverage their narrow majorities in Washington to seek more federal spending."

David Lynch of the Washington Post: "On Friday, President Biden called on regulators to crack down on consolidation in the shipping and rail industries, as part of a broad executive order promoting competition throughout the U.S. economy. Freight may seem a prosaic topic for presidential attention. But the smooth movement of goods has perhaps never been more essential, amid the explosion of e-commerce that accompanied the pandemic. Transport bottlenecks in June helped fuel the highest inflation in 13 years, rattling Americans with sticker shock on goods such as used cars, airfare and bacon.... The White House officials who drafted Biden's order say high freight costs, resulting from a lack of competition, are an economywide drag." ~~~

    ~~~ Marie: OR, customers could try my bitch-a-lot method. Sunday, I was about to make an online purchase of an item that cost about $275. But when I got to the last page in the check-out process, I learned that the shipping charges were $290. So I didn't make the purchase, but I called the company Monday and told them I thought they had miscalculated the shipping charges. I got a song-and-dance. I was polite, but I said I wasn't going to make the purchase as their shipping charges were 6 or 7 times higher than what another company had just charged me for shipping an item of similar size and weight from the same state. Half an hour later the song-and-dance lady called me back & said the company had reduced the shipping charge from $290 to $45. Okay then.

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said Wednesday he's open to the $3.5 trillion spending agreement reached by Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee, which would be entirely paid for with yet to be specified tax measures, but he's holding back on fully endorsing the deal until further review. Manchin's cautious optimism about the agreement means that Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer's (D-N.Y.) two-track strategy for moving President Biden's infrastructure agenda is still moving in the right direction."

Natalie Fertig of Politico: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released sweeping draft legislation Wednesday to legalize weed, officially kickstarting a difficult debate in his chamber that also makes a major splash for one of his campaign promises. The measure floated by the New York Democrat -- along with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) -- proposes removing federal penalties on cannabis, expunging nonviolent federal cannabis-related criminal records and letting states decide if or how to legalize the drug."

Steven Erlanger & Somini Sengupta of the New York Times: "In what may be a seminal moment in the global effort to fight climate change, Europe on Wednesday challenged the rest of the world by laying out an ambitious blueprint to pivot away from fossil fuels over the next nine years, a plan that has the potential to set off global trade disputes. The most radical, and possibly contentious, proposal would impose tariffs on certain imports from countries with less stringent climate-protection rules. The proposals also include eliminating the sales of new gas- and diesel-powered cars in just 14 years, and raising the price of using fossil fuels."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here.

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: Some normal people react to the so-called Tennessee health department's decision to halt all vaccination out reach -- for all diseases -- in their effort to "own the libs" by "killing the kids."

Charles Pierce of Esquire: "If there is a less excusable human being walking upright than Ken Starr, head huntsman of the Great Penis Chase of 1998, then I'm hard pressed to think of who it is. Since his salacious moment in the national spotlight, Starr has presided over a disastrous sexual-misconduct scandal and alleged cover-up at Baylor University in Texas. He took a job as part of the former president's defense team during Impeachment I, an indication that he was less offended by extramarital foolery than he used to be. And now comes a book by Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald, the journalist who blew open the story of Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking empire and the sweetheart plea deal that helped enable it, in which Starr is featured as a legal engine behind said plea bargain. (Guardian story on Brown's revelations linked below.) Firewalled. MB: I am informed this is my last freebie-of-the-month.

~~~~~~~~~~

Only in America. Marie: Every day, the news gets crazier.

We're facing the most significant test of our democracy since the Civil War. That's not hyperbole. Since the Civil War -- the Confederates back then never breached the Capitol as insurrectionists did on January the 6th. I'm not saying this to alarm you. I'm saying this because you should be alarmed. -- President Joe Biden, in Philadelphia, Pa., Tuesday ~~~

~~~ Matt Viser, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Tuesday delivered his most forceful condemnation yet of the wave of voting restrictions proposed in Republican-led states nationwide -- efforts the president argued are the biggest threat to American democracy since the Civil War. Biden's speech was an attempt to inject new life into flagging efforts to pass federal legislation addressing the issue. But while he intensified his explanation of the stakes, his speech did not include a call for the Senate to change the filibuster, which is seen by advocates as the best, and perhaps only, way to usher in the kinds of changes Biden is seeking. At the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, in a room filled with images of Benjamin Franklin and quotes from Daniel Webster and Theodore Roosevelt, Biden compared the new laws to voter suppression by the Ku Klux Klan and to the Jim Crow-era laws that disenfranchised nearly all voters who were not White and male." The Guardian's report is here. ~~~

Zach Montague of the New York Times: "President Biden will nominate Jeff Flake, the former Republican senator from Arizona, to serve as ambassador to Turkey, the White House announced on Tuesday, placing a prominent, moderate Republican in line to assume a high-profile diplomatic role. Mr. Flake, who became one the most vocal Republican critics of Donald J. Trump during Mr. Trump's presidency, had been largely absent from the national stage after stepping away from politics in 2019. In 2017, he announced he would not seek re-election the following year, citing the changing face of the G.O.P., which he said had grown too accepting of Mr. Trump's 'reckless, outrageous and undignified' behavior. Since then, Mr. Flake has rotated between academic fellowships at Harvard, Arizona State University and Brigham Young University. Mr. Flake was also one of a number of former Republican members of Congress who endorsed Mr. Biden for president in 2020."

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "Ousted Social Security commissioner Andrew Saul, the Trump appointee who declared Friday he would defy his firing by President Biden, on Monday found his access to agency computers cut off, even as his acting replacement moved to undo his policies. [Saul was trying to work from his home in Katonah, N.Y., where he's been working since March 2020 because of the pandemic.]... Saul said he had no public announcement -- yet -- on his strategy to remain in office as the 'duly confirmed Social Security commissioner.'... Saul [is] a wealthy former women's apparel executive and prominent Republican donor who had served on the board of a conservative think tank that has called for cuts to Social Security benefits. 'Stay tuned.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday warned citizens of Cuba and Haiti against trying to flee to the United States amid unrest in those nations, saying they would be repatriated or referred to other countries for resettlement. Mayorkas, whose family fled the communist takeover of Cuba six decades ago, said during a news conference that the Biden administration supports the people of both countries.... But Mayorkas said migrants should not make the dangerous journey by sea, warning, 'People will die.'... Mayorkas [made his remarks] at the U.S. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, standing beside Adm. Linda Fagan, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard."

Tony Romm, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats on Tuesday reached an early agreement to pursue a sweeping $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that aims to expand Medicare benefits, boost federal safety net programs and combat climate change. The wide array of planned health, education and social programs if adopted would represent a historic burst of federal spending, as party lawmakers led by President Biden seek to seize on their slim but powerful majorities in Washington to expand the footprint of government and catalyze major changes in the economy. Democrats plan to fashion their bill in a way that it can clear the Senate without Republican support. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and top lawmakers on the chamber's foremost budget committee announced the plans at a late evening press conference. He said 'every major program' Biden had endorsed would be 'funded in a robust way,' a commitment that comes after the president this spring proposed significant jobs and families spending packages that included investments in healthcare and education." The AP's story is here.

Road Trip: Wholesome American Family Tours Citadel of Democracy. Alexander Mallin of ABC News: "Five members of the same Texas family were arrested Tuesday and charged for their alleged participation in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to newly-unsealed charging documents. Kristi Munn, Tom Munn, Dawn Munn, Josh Munn and Kayli Munn -- described by prosecutors as a nuclear family from Borger, Texas -- are now each facing four federal charges over their alleged illegal entry and alleged disorderly conduct in the Capitol, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday afternoon.... After the riot, investigators found posts from the family where they discussed joining in the insurrection. 'The only damage to the capital building was several windows and sets of doors,' Tom Munn wrote on Facebook. 'Nothing inside the capital was damaged. I can tell you, patriots NEVER made it to the chamber. There was no violence in the capital building, the crowd was NOT out of control ... they were ANGRY!!!'"

Notes on the Former Guy

Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "A war of words broke out Tuesday among former senior Justice Department officials over Pennsylvania politics and the aftermath of the 2020 election, fueled by ... Donald Trump's release of a letter by a former appointee who is seeking Trump's backing as he considers a run for governor.... In a June 9 letter to Trump..., [William] McSwain[, a former U.S. attorney for Philadelphia] said his office 'received various allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities.' The letter seemed to blame [former AG William] Barr for not allowing McSwain to fully pursue and publicize them.... 'Attorney General Barr ... instructed me not to make any public statements or put out any press releases regarding possible election irregularities. I was also given a directive to pass along serious allegations to the State Attorney General for investigation -- the same State Attorney General who had already declared that you could not win.'" Barr denied the allegation & said McSwain was just trying to curry Trump's favor. ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Former Attorney General William Barr pushed back Tuesday against suggestions from ... Donald Trump and a former federal prosecutor in Pennsylvania that federal authorities were ordered not to aggressively investigate claims of fraud during the 2020 presidential election. Trump declared in a statement sent to reporters Monday evening that the former U.S. attorney in Philadelphia, William McSwain, was blocked from pursuing assertions of election tampering.... In an interview with Politico, Barr -- who became a favored punching bag for Trump after the 2020 election -- denied ever telling McSwain or others not to pursue fraud allegations related to the vote. 'It's written to make it seem like I gave him a directive,' Barr said. 'I never told him not to investigate anything.'"

David Fahrenthold & Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Trump Organization executive Allen Weisselberg resigned from his positions at dozens of the company's subsidiaries in late June -- several days before he was indicted on charges of tax fraud and grand larceny -- according to documents obtained by The Washington Post. 'Effective immediately, I, Allen Weisselberg, resign from each and every office and position that I hold' in the subsidiaries, Weisselberg wrote in the letter, dated June 25. What followed was a two-page list.... The list obtained by The Post was largely redacted, so that only a few company names were visible. But, from looking at other corporate records in the United States and Scotland, The Post has identified at least 54 Trump entities where Weisselberg has recently resigned from his positions.... The shifts in leadership that have followed his resignation -- detailed in other corporate filings -- show that the Trump Organization appears to be increasingly reliant on Trump';s adult sons to manage a company...." MB: Yeah, I'll bet that goes well.

The Washington Post publishes what it calls Part 1 of excerpts from Philip Rucker & Carol Leonnig's new book, I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year. (Also linked yesterday.)

Devan Cole of CNN: "... Donald Trump told a number of his advisers in 2020 that whoever leaked information about his stay in the White House bunker in May of that year had committed treason and should be executed for sharing details about the episode with members of the press, according to excerpts of a new book, obtained by CNN, from Wall Street Journal reporter Michael Bender." (Also linked yesterday.)

Nicholas Lemann reviews Michael Wolff's book Landslide for the New York Times. The review is worth reading. Here's a sample graf: "Trump, in these pages, is self-obsessed, delusional and administratively incompetent. He has no interest in or understanding of the workings of government. He doesn't read or listen to briefings. He spends vast amounts of time watching conservative television networks and chatting on the phone with cronies. The pandemic puts him at a special disadvantage; many of the people around him are either sick or afraid to come to work because that would entail complying with a regime of Covid noncompliance that Trump demands. If anybody tells him something he doesn't want to hear, he marginalizes or fires that person and finds somebody else to listen to, who may or may not hold an official position. If Fox News becomes less than completely loyal, he'll switch to Newsmax or One America News Network. He lives in a self-curated information environment that bears only a glancing relationship to reality."

Mike Allen of Axios: "... Donald Trump, in a book out Tuesday by Michael Wolff, says he is 'very disappointed' in votes by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, his own hard-won nominee, and that he 'hasn't had the courage you need to be a great justice.'... 'There were so many others I could have appointed, and everyone wanted me to,' Trump told Wolff in an interview.... 'Where would he be without me? I saved his life. He wouldn't even be in a law firm. Who would have had him? Nobody. Totally disgraced. Only I saved him.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

** Trump's "Lost Cause." Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: “We are not the only democracy to have had a corrupt, would-be authoritarian in high office. But we have had a hard time holding that person minimally accountable.... This isn't the first time the United States has struggled to hold insurrectionists accountable.... Jefferson Davis..., Robert E. Lee ... [and] Alexander Stephens, the Confederate vice president..., [all died free men.]... Other, less prominent Confederates were also able to escape any real punishment.... Typical were those who moved smoothly from open rebellion to opposition to Reconstruction to serving as propagandists for what would become the 'Lost Cause.'... Leniency for defeated Confederates ... also contributed to a climate of impunity that fueled violence against Blacks and their allies.... The United States has never struggled to punish those radicals who stood against hierarchy and domination.... The two Red Scares of the 20th century are evidence enough of this fact." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The determining factor isn't so much the punishment as who does the punishing. If almost all Republicans had condemned Trump for inciting the insurrection -- and for his many other corrupt acts -- then it's likely Trump & Trumpism would be kaput. But most Republicans, after an extremely brief January 6 shiver, went back to defending Trump & kowtowing to him. That left only Democrats, some social media folks & a few corporations to "punish" Trump. Hardly a line-up that could convince the MAGA crowd. The same dynamic would have held after the Civil War. Had Northerners incarcerated Davis, Lee, Stephens & others, they would have become martyrs of the "Lost Cause." It would have taken Southerners to declaim against the leaders of the seditious war, and that never happened. The Great Unwashed, alas, will almost always default to, "He's a jerk, but he's out jerk." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Here's the Insurectionist-in-Chief talking about the January 6 "lovefest" over this past weekend. Worth watching the part with Trump's, uh, voiceover, which I've set near the top of the video: ~~~

Bill Barr Cleared Up Some Loose Ends Before He Left the Building. Devlin Barrett & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Newly unsealed court documents show the Trump Justice Department sought a court order for the communications records of three Washington Post reporters [-- Ellen Nakashima, Greg Miller and Adam Entous --] in the final days of William P. Barr's tenure as attorney general in 2020, as prosecutors sought to identify sources for three articles written in 2017. The papers also reveal the service provider that was the recipient of the secret court order: Proofpoint Corporation, a firm that supplies data security services. Using Proofpoint as a means of trying to get the reporters' email records suggests prosecutors were thinking creatively about where they might be able to find reporters' data, beyond just standard email providers like Google or Microsoft.... In addition, the documents indicate the extent to which federal investigators strongly suspected the disclosures of classified information were coming from Congress."

Ken Vogel of the New York Times: "A former Chicago bank executive was convicted on Tuesday of financial crimes related to his facilitation of millions of dollars in high-risk loans to Paul Manafort, all in an effort to obtain a coveted position in the Trump administration. A jury in New York unanimously found the banker, Stephen M. Calk, 54, guilty of one count each of financial institution bribery and conspiracy to commit financial institution bribery. The charges stemmed from Mr. Calk's use of his position as chairman and chief executive of the Federal Savings Bank to push the bank to give $16 million in loans in 2016 to Mr. Manafort, who served as chairman of Donald J. Trump's presidential campaign during a key stretch."

John Cox of the Washington Post: "About a week ago, a company in Utah ... debuted what it described as a fun new product: a kit that encases Glock handguns in red, yellow and blue Lego blocks, refashioning lethal weapons to look exactly like children's toys. What Culper Precision calls the "BLOCK19" can be purchased for $549 to $765. "There is a satisfaction that can ONLY be found in the shooting sports and this is just one small way to break the rhetoric from Anti-Gun folks and draw attention to the fact that the shooting sports are SUPER FUN! the [Culper] site proclaimed.... What's not fun, and went unaddressed on the sales page, is the reality that thousands of children unintentionally shoot themselves or others each year because they find a gun and pull its trigger.... [The Lego gun is] legal in at least most of the country, said David Pucino, a lawyer at the Giffords Law Center. Although federal law prohibits toys from being manufactured to look like guns, no such law prohibits guns from being made to look like toys." ~~~

This "Lego Glock" is an actual thing you can buy, build and shoot: "...honestly what childhood toy is more welcoming than a big ole pile of blocks:” https://t.co/wBXl5GP6an

Unintentional shootings among children have risen by 30% in the past year. pic.twitter.com/ZmQXiefOE7

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 8, 2021

Ken Starr's Moral Outrage Is Extremely Client-Dependent. Ed Pilkington of the Guardian: "strong>Ken Starr, the lawyer who hounded Bill Clinton over his affair with Monica Lewinsky, waged a 'scorched-earth' legal campaign to persuade federal prosecutors to drop a sex-trafficking case against the billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein relating to the abuse of multiple underaged girls, according to a new book. In Perversion of Justice the Miami Herald reporter Julie K Brown writes about Starr's role in securing the secret 2008 sweetheart deal that granted Epstein effective immunity from federal prosecution. The author, who is credited with blowing open the cover-up, calls Starr a 'fixer' who 'used his political connections in the White House to get the Justice Department to review Epstein's case'.... Though Starr's role in securing the Epstein deal was public knowledge, Brown's book reveals the lengths that the lawyer was prepared to go to in order to protect from federal justice an accused sexual predator and pedophile. The extent of his involvement is all the more striking given the equally passionate lengths that Starr went to in 1998 to pursue Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice, given the much less serious sexual activity that sparked that investigation."

Maeve Sheehy of Politico: "A federal court on Tuesday threw ou the defamation lawsuit filed by Roy Moore, Alabama's former chief justice, against comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Moore, who served twice in his role on the Alabama Supreme Court and was twice removed from the position, sued Baron Cohen after Moore was interviewed under the pretense that he would receive an award for his support of Israel. Baron Cohen pretended to be an Israeli anti-terrorism expert and claimed he had technology that would show whether Moore was a pedophile -- a reference to sexual misconduct allegations against Moore -- for the series 'Who Is America?' Moore alleged that Baron Cohen defamed him. He and his wife, Kayla Moore, also alleged intentional infliction of emotional distress and fraud. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the case on Tuesday after agreeing with the defendants that because Moore had signed a waiver before the interview, and because of First Amendment protection, Moore's claims were barred. Judge John P. Cronan, an appointee of ... Donald Trump, dismissed the claims by both Moore and his wife."

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "An Iranian American journalist living in Brooklyn who has been a sharp critic of the Iranian government was the target of an international kidnapping plot orchestrated by an intelligence network in Iran, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. In an indictment unsealed in federal court in Manhattan, four Iranians were charged with conspiring to kidnap the journalist and author, Masih Alinejad. Ms. Alinejad was not identified by prosecutors, but confirmed in an interview that she was the intended target of the plot. Last year, Ms. Alinejad wrote in a newspaper article that Iranian government officials had unleashed a social media campaign calling for her abduction. The four defendants all live in Iran and remain at large, the prosecutors said, identifying one of them, Alireza Shavaroghi Farahani, 50, as an Iranian intelligence official and the three others as 'Iranian intelligence assets.' A fifth defendant, accused of supporting the plot but not participating in the kidnapping conspiracy, was arrested in California." ~~~

     ~~~ A CBS News story is here. The DOJ's statement is here.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Conservative network Newsmax is rushing to distance itself from one of its own hosts after he said this week that vaccines go 'against nature' because diseases are 'supposed to wipe out a certain amount of people.'... Newsmax issued a statement on Tuesday supporting efforts to get Americans vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, while pointedly disagreeing with host Rob Schmitt's claims that vaccinations unnaturally interfere with viruses' designs on killing people." See also Patrick's comment in yesterday's thread.

Tennessee. Brett Kelman of the Tennessean: "The Tennessee state government on Monday fired its top vaccination official, becoming the latest of about two dozen states to lose years of institutional knowledge about vaccines in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The termination comes as the virus shows new signs of spread in Tennessee, and the more-transmissible delta variant surfaces in greater numbers. Dr. Michelle Fiscus, the medical director for vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization programs at the Tennessee Department of Health, said she was fired on Monday afternoon and provided a copy of her termination letter. It provides no explanation for her termination. Fiscus said she was a scapegoat who was terminated to appease state lawmakers angry about the department's efforts to vaccinate teenagers against coronavirus. The agency has been dialing back efforts to vaccinate teenagers since June. 'It was my job to provide evidence-based education and vaccine access so that Tennesseans could protect themselves against COVID-19,' Fiscus said in a written statement. '"I have now been terminated for doing exactly that.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Oliver Laughland of the Guardian: "The Tennessee department of health will reportedly halt all vaccine outreach to teenagers amid a conservative backlash against Covid-19 vaccines for adolescents. The department's new guidance, announced in reports and emails reported by the Tennessean, will apply to vaccinations for all diseases -- not just Covid-19. If the department issues any information about vaccination, staff will reportedly be required to strip the agency logo from documents." The Tennessean's story is firewalled. ~~~

~~~ ** Jill Filipovic in a CNN opinion piece: "The Donald Trump-fueled descent of the GOP into a party of reality-rejecting, science-denying conspiracy theorists is well-documented, and a growing phenomenon.... And almost nowhere is the enduring harm of the Trump years more apparent than in the American right's response to the Covid-19 vaccine. Vaccinations, long rightly heralded as miracles of modern medicine that have saved millions of lives, are suddenly ideologically divisive along party lines. The danger inherent in this conflict came to a head this week in Tennessee, where pediatrician Dr. Michelle Fiscus, one of the state's top vaccine officials, was fired after circulating information about a decades-old state policy regarding vaccinations for teens.... The party of 'pro-life' doesn't believe that children -- including teens -- have basic rights to preserve their well-being, separate from their parents' wishes or consent." Read on.

Beyond the Beltway

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "In the United States in the year 2021, you, as an American citizen, do not necessarily have the right to vote. You do not necessarily have the right to teach or to learn about matters of race, gender or anything else state lawmakers consider 'divisive concepts.'But you do have one absolute, sacrosanct, inviolate, God-given, self-evident and inalienable right: the right to refuse a coronavirus vaccine -- and to infect as many people as you can. With the blessing of the Roberts court, legislatures in Republican-run states are rushing to impose new voting restrictions, particularly on non-White voters.... At the same time, 10 states have enacted, and 26 states are weighing, restrictions on classroom discussions of racism and sexism.... Red states are simultaneously extending civil rights to a previously unprotected class: the anti-vaxxers. A count by the Husch Blackwell law firm lists at least 17 Republican-run states that have enacted laws or orders protecting the rights of those who refuse coronavirus vaccines...."

California. Don Thompson of the AP: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom can't put his Democratic Party affiliation on the ballot voters see when they decide whether to remove him, a judge ruled Monday. Newsom's campaign missed a deadline to submit his affiliation to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber for the Sept. 14 recall election. Newsom's campaign said it was inadvertent and asked Weber, who was appointed by Newsom, to allow the affiliation to appear. She said the issue needed to go to a judge, so Newsom filed a lawsuit.... Sacramento County Superior Court Judge James Arguelles ... determined that the law 'unambiguously precludes party information from appearing on a recall ballot where the elected officer fails timely to make the designation.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Florida. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "The death toll from a catastrophic condominium collapse in Florida last month, once feared to be well more than 100 people, is expected to land between 95 and 99 people, with the search-and-recovery operation at the disaster site nearing its end.... In the 20 days crews have searched for victims..., they have found the remains of 95 people. Eighty-five of them have been identified. The other 10 victims will be considered unaccounted for until the medical examiner's office in Miami-Dade County can identify them through various forensic techniques.... In addition to the 10 unidentified people who are known to have been in the building, the list of those potentially still missing includes four more names, for a total of 14, said Alfredo Ramirez III, the director of the Miami-Dade Police Department. Those four were identified by friends or family members as possibly in the building when it collapsed, and they have not been found alive elsewhere." The AP's report is here.

Florida. Amanda Maile & Mina Kaji of ABC News: "Norwegian Cruise Lines is suing Florida after the state banned vaccine passports, saying it cannot safely resume sailings without ensuring its passengers and crew are vaccinated against COVID-19. In a complaint filed Tuesday, the company called the move a 'last resort.'... Florida's law threatens to fine companies $5,000 each time they ask a customer to provide proof that they've been vaccinated."

Texas. Reid Epstein & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Texas lawmakers traveled down starkly divergent political paths on Tuesday, as Republicans in Austin signaled their intention to push forward with an overhaul of the state's election system while Democrats who had fled the state a day earlier began lobbying lawmakers in Congress to pass comprehensive federal voting rights legislation. While Democrats celebrated their success in temporarily delaying the Republican bill, they confronted a much bigger long-term challenge: There is little the party can do to stop Republicans from ultimately passing a wide array of voting restrictions, with Gov. Greg Abbott vowing to call 'special session after special session after special session' until an election bill is passed. But Democrats, as long as they remain away from Texas, appear likely to be able to hold off the G.O.P. effort for now.... Without a quorum in the House, any bill passed by the Senate cannot advance, effectively killing any bill for this session...." ~~~

~~~ That Sound You Hear Is Sabres Rattling. Patrick Svitek & Cassandra Pollock of the Texas Tribune: "A showdown in the Texas House was locked into place Tuesday after the chamber voted overwhelmingly to send law enforcement after Democrats who left [for Washington, D.C.] a day earlier.... The impact of the House move is unclear since Texas law enforcement lacks jurisdiction in the nation's capital."

Texas. Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "Abortion rights advocates and providers filed a federal lawsuit in Texas on Tuesday seeking to block a new state law empowering individuals to sue anyone assisting a woman with getting an abortion, including those who provide financial help or drive a pregnant patient to a clinic. A dozen states have passed laws banning abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy. But the Texas law, set to take effect in September, goes further by incentivizing private citizens to help enforce the ban -- awarding them at least $10,000 if their court challenges are successful. Even religious leaders who counsel a pregnant woman considering an abortion could be liable, according to the lawsuit filed in Austin by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU on behalf of several other groups." (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

Who Took Down REvil? David Sanger of the New York Times: "Just days after President Biden demanded that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia shut down ransomware groups attacking American targets, the most aggressive of the groups suddenly went off-line early Tuesday. The mystery is who made it happen. The group, called REvil, short for 'Ransomware evil,' has been identified by U.S. intelligence agencies as responsible for the attack on one of America's largest beef producers, JBS. Two weeks after Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin met in Geneva last month, REvil took credit for a hack that affected thousands of businesses around the world over the July 4 holiday.That latest attack led to Mr. Biden's ultimatum in a phone call on Friday to the Russian president. Later, Mr. Biden said that 'we expect them to act,' and when asked by a reporter later if he would take down the group's servers if Mr. Putin did not, the president simply said, 'Yes.' He may have done exactly that. But that is only one possible explanation for what happened around 1 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, when the group&'s sites on the dark web suddenly disappeared."

Canada. Leyland Cecco of the Guardian: "A First Nations community in western Canada has announced the discovery of at least 160 unmarked graves close to a former residential school -- the latest in a series of grim announcements from across the country in recent weeks. Members of the Penelakut Tribe in south-western British Columbia said in a statement late on Monday that the graves had been discovered near the site of the Kuper Island industrial school on Penelakut Island, nearly 90km north of the provincial capital Victoria."